Youth tackle ‘apathy’ in Barking and Stoke for General Election

Two young people are choosing to volunteer full-time through the UK volunteering charity CSV to ensure that as many young people turn out as possible to vote in the two key areas of Barking & Dagenham and Stoke-on-Trent. (May 2010).

Both Robert Doughty and Michael Barnes have relocated from their home towns to tackle voter apathy amongst their peer group in two areas being contested by parties across the political spectrum from the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats through to the BNP. Though their campaigns are not party political the two volunteers are determined that young people connect better with democracy and take an active part in the elections.

Robert Doughty from Lincoln (23) is running a Question Time session for up to 150 young people and the prospective parliamentary candidates for Barking. It will happen on May 4th, two days before the General Election.

Rob says: “I feel there’s a lot of political apathy amongst young people – partly caused by the expenses scandals and ‘lobbygate’ and partly because many feel that their vote won’t make any difference. Encouraging more people of my age to get involved in their local community will help us to feel a sense of ownership and better control of our destinies.”

Rob excelled in his Business Studies degree and started working in the Lincolnshire area in finance related jobs, but it soon became clear that he needed a change. “I was a little bored and wanted to do a new and entirely different challenge. Full-time volunteering through CSV gave me the opportunity to come to a new city and be part of a completely volunteer-led project.

“CSV wanted young people to engage other young people in the democratic process. I’ve been using new media to appeal to my peers such as Facebook and You Tube and have been contacting Barking & Dagenham’s secondary schools to invite them to nominate pupils for a special Question Time session with prospective parliamentary candidates.

“I’m expecting up to 150 young people aged 16-25 to attend Question Time and to ask probing questions. I will follow this up around 6 weeks after the election with the successful MP and local councillors so that we can start holding them to account over the promises they made before the election.”

Michael Barnes (24) from Basingstoke responded to the challenge presented by CSV at a time when he was finding it difficult to secure a permanent job. He’s been studying law for five years but has decided he does not want to follow this as a career. After a brief spell working in the financial sector and in politics, Michael found himself without a job.

Michael has a history of volunteering and has previously given his time to Mencap, where he has volunteered alongside people with learning difficulties. He also volunteered in a MPs office in Somerset and Westminster where he helped on campaigns and helped out in the MPs office.

Michael is now volunteering full-time through CSV in Stoke-on-Trent as part of a special project to get young people more interested in the forthcoming election. He has organised three Question Time events at which prospective candidates and local MPs attended.

The two Question Times were at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth-form College and  Newcastle-under-Lyme College, the latter of which attracted 172 young people aged 16-22 plus the sitting Labour MP, and the representatives  from the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives  and the Green Party.

The big event was a Youth Hustings open to all the young people of Stoke-on-Trent, hosted at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent and organised in conjunction with the YMCA, Stoke Youth Services and Sentinel newspaper. Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives attended alongside the Trades Union Socialist Alliance.  The Editor of the Sentinel chaired this youth hustings.

Michael passionately believes that it’s important that more people of his generation get involved in the democratic process. He said: “I was surprised at how detailed the questioning of the younger participants was. Many of them are well versed on current issues with questioning majoring on the state of the economy and the jobs market. Many wanted to know what the politicians were going to do for young people.”

Michael also organised a last minute young person voter registration event again at Newcastle-under-Lyme College on Tuesday 20th April – the deadline for registering to vote to encourage more young people to take part in the elections.

He is currently organising a workshop with disadvantaged young people based at the YMCA to hold a discussion about what democracy is and the role of MPs and he is also entering discussions with a secondary school to organise a mock election.

Further press information: Jason Tanner, CSV Press Office on 07941 433598 or 020 7812 0038 or Melissa Goss on 020 7812 0037

Notes for editors

1. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Last year 167,064 people gave their time as volunteers through CSV. The charity trained 12,196 people of all ages.